November 8^th, 1999                                           

Honda models dominate three segments

Three Australian market segments last month were topped by Honda models, powering Honda to a new October sales record and its highest ever market share, according to official VFACTS sales figures.

Honda and its dealers went against the industry trend by selling an October record 2639 units – a massive 656 units more than October last year.

The result gave Honda its 27^th record month in 30 months and pushed the Japanese manufacturer’s market share to an all-time high of 4.3 per cent for the month – 0.8 per cent higher than its previous record in May this year.

Year to date, Honda continues to extend its lead over Mazda to 1315 units – 23856, to 22541, securing seventh place in the industry rankings.

For the first time since the Honda CR-V’s launch in 1997, the sales-crunching 4WD was the No.1-selling all-terrain wagon with 914 sales. It outsold Toyota LandCruiser Wagon for the second time this year (692 units) and Nissan Patrol (675).

The CR-V easily outsold against its direct Light 4x4 rivals, the Toyota RAV4 (506) and Subaru Forester (512).

And the Honda S2000 continued to shine with 165 units – pushing its YTD sales to 449 units since its launch in late August this year. The super roadster clearly out ran its closest rivals BMW 3-Series 6 cylinder (134) and BMW 3-Series Coupe (137) to top the Luxury segment.

The revitalised Integra range, which includes the hot Integra Type R, achieved 94 units in October, clinching top position in the sports car segment ahead of Mazda MX5 (86) and Hyundai Coupe (72). With Integra and Prelude (70) combined, Honda continues to dominate the sports car segment with a 31 per cent hold and easily giving it No. 1 position over Mazda (16.3 per cent).

Honda’s HR-V was also a strong performer, with its best result since launch in January 1999 with 359 units. The Suzuki Jimny (79) and Daihatsu Terios (131) were no match for the HR-V’s continued popularity in the market place.

Honda Australia’s general manager of sales and marketing, Tony Devers, said the company was well on its way to reaching its1999 target of a record 28,000 units, through strong performances by its entire range.

"The general public has continued to embrace the Honda line-up in 1999 and we are obviously seeing the results on the board," he said.